South Africa Gallery: 2010 FIFA World Cup Stadiums

The new 70,000-capacity Green Point Stadium is the latest distinctive feature to be added to Cape Town's dramatic Atlantic Ocean cityscape. It will host eight games during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including one of the semi-finals on July 6.

Credit: Bruce Sutherland/courtesy, Cape Town Tourism

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Johannesburg, South Africa's sprawling financial and mercantile heart, is home to two of the host venues during the 2010 World Cup: the new 94,700-seat Soccer City, venue for the final, and 61,000-seat Ellis Park (pictured here), which was built as a rugby stadium and was where the Springboks lifted that game's top trophy in 1995.

Credit: Walter Knirr/courtesy, South Africa Tourism

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Durban is South Africa's third-largest city and serves as both a busy international port and popular beach destination. Located on the warm shores of the Indian Ocean, it offers an interesting meld of Zulu, Indian, and colonial heritage. Games will be played at the new 70,000-capacity Moses Mabhida Stadium, including one of the semi-finals.

Credit: Walter Knirr/courtesy, South Africa Tourism

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Port Elizabeth's new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (capacity: 48,000) will host a total of eight matches during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including a quarter-final and the third-place playoff. Set on the windswept Indian Ocean coastline in Eastern Cape Province, Port Elizabeth is both an important seaport and car-industry hub for companies including General Motors, Volkswagen, and Ford.

Credit: Ngrund/courtesy, Wikimedia Commons

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Nelspruit is a smallish provincial town on the banks of the Crocodile River and doorstep of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which spreads from South Africa through Zimbabwe and Mozambique, plus includes world-famous, 100-year-old Kruger National Park (pictured). Five opening-round World Cup games will be played out of Nelspruit's 46,000-seat Mbombela Stadium.

Credit: Jeremy Woodhouse/Digital Vision/Getty

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Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa; in fact, it surprisingly hosts the second highest number of embassies in the world after Washington, D.C. This old colonial-era town also exhibits a distinct European flavor from its days as capital of the Paul Kruger Boer Republic in the late 19th century. The city's 50,000-capacity Loftus Versfeld Stadium exudes similar historic bonafides, having been in use since 1903 for rugby and soccer matches.

Credit: Chris Kirchhoff/courtesy, MediaClubSouthAfrica.com

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Located in the heart of the country, Bloemfontein means 'spring of flowers' in Afrikaans. Once the capital of the independent Boer republic of the Orange Free State, it is now South Africa's judicial capital. The stadium here, Free State Stadium, is home to the rowdy fans of local club Bloemfontein Celtic, who are sure to offer some vociferous home-team advantage during South Africa's first-round clash with World Cup heavyweights France on June 22.

Credit: courtesy, Wikimedia Commons

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The 42,000-seat Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace is named after the Bafokeng people who live in the area. It will host five first- and second-round games during the 2010 World Cup. Jacaranda-lined Rustenburg lies at the foot of the Magaliesburg mountain range, a fertile farming area and source of some 70 percent of the world's supply of platinum.

Credit: Hannelie Coetze/courtesy, MediaClubSouthAfrica.com

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Polokwane, previously known as Pietersburg, is the capital city of Limpopo Province, the most northerly region in the country. Four first-round games will be played at 46,000-seat Peter Mokaba Stadium, named for a local-born hero of the Apartheid-era struggle. Limpopo serves as a rich agricultural bread bowl, including mangoes (pictured here).